Global Weekly Update October 22, 2012
Home Stretch: Holding the World Bank Accountable for Promised Education Funding!
Education for All Campaign Manager Tony Baker has chronicled his experience at the recent World Bank’s annual fall meeting. His visit to the gathering in Tokyo was undergirded by your fantastic media work. You are creating conversation across the country about the imperative of making sure the World Bank holds true to its original pledge toward global basic education. We have a running record of your growing number of media hits on our blog (two op-eds and 11 letters to the editor and counting!)
Want to be part of our media goals? We’re working toward eight editorials, 15 op-eds, and 65 letters to the editor by Halloween. Here’s what you can do to add your voice to the mix:
- If you have 30 minutes, schedule a time to speak with your editor and pitch the idea of an editorial on the World Bank. Use our fresh World Bank editorial packet to make your pitch.
- If you have 20 minutes, read more in-depth information about the World Bank’s actions as explained by our September action sheet and then write a letter to the editor.
- If you have 15 minutes, share our tool for submiting an online letter to the editor, and then write one yourself!
- Want to tweet? You can even use Twitter to tell others about what’s going on! Use @WorldBank to make your request of the World Bank that they honor their $750 million pledge as originally calculated based on 2010 discussions and use hashtags #WorldBank750 and #FuzzyMath to join your tweet with the larger conversation.
- Want to comment online? If you find access to education being discussed online, like Regional Coordinator Bruce Preville did, comment on it and add what you know. Keep the conversation flowing! You can start by commenting on this inspirational blog post by World Bank president Jim Kim himself, “5 Tips on Starting a Social Movement.”
We have a powerful report that more fully explains what’s happening with the World Bank, an archived webinar to help break down the information, and an archived strategy call to help you discover valuable local hooks for your media piece. All of this is available on our blog.
(We also have hot-off-the-press news of a courageous letter initiated by Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and signed by a total of fifteen female senators. The letter urges Pakistani Prime Minister Pervez Ashraf to seek justice for fourteen-year-old Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai who was recently attacked by the Taliban for her advocacy on rights and education. The letter also asks for support for basic education, particularly for girls. See if your senator signed, and if she did, consider writing a letter to the editor of your local paper to offer a thank you for taking this stand.)
Education for All Act: We Are 75% to Our Cosponsor Goal!
As another piece of our comprehensive advocacy work to advance support for global basic education, we’re going for 100 cosponsors on the Education for All Act of 2011. Have you asked your representative to stand up for access to an education for every young child? If not, think of what happened recently, as noted by Senior Legislative Associate Allison Grossman:
14 year old Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban in Pakistan because she claimed her right to an education – and because she passionately advocated for the right for all girls to go to school. In response to the news, Secretary Clinton said, “I think we should be dedicating our efforts to brave young women, some of whose names we will know and some we will never know, who struggle against tradition and culture and even outright hostility and sometimes violence to pursue their hopes, their God-given potential to have a life of meaning and purpose and make contributions to their families, their communities, their countries, and the world.”
Check out our action sheet, companion laser talk, and shareable online action for October; these tools can all assist you in crafting your own letter to your member of the House asking him/her to cosponsor the Education for All Act of 2011. Help us get to 100 cosponsors! We can do it.
For comprehensive information on our Education for All campaign check out the recent blog post written on the very first International Day of the Girl, by Allison Grossman. She will break down our multifaceted approach to supporting global access to basic primary education – and outline how you and others can get involved – in her comprehensive piece.
You can also listen to the informative October national grassroots conference call featuring Sarah Beardmore of the Global Partnership for Education or look at the helpful online resources of the Global Campaign for Education for more information on this worldwide effort. The time for action on education for all is now.
Have You Heard the News?
Fundraising. Congratulations to the Detroit RESULTS partners who hosted a successful event with RESULTS board member Marianne Williamson and raised over $13,000! The partners spoke powerfully about their experiences and introduced our organization to a crowd of approximately 400 people in a room filled to capacity. Marianne spoke about “Consciousness and Activism” and gave everyone a preview of her upcoming Sister Giant event to be held in California in November. Thank you, Detroit- area groups, for your hard work!
Expansion. Also, we welcome another new RESULTS group to the fold, this time in Charlotte! Charlotte’s arrival on the scene is part of our continuing expansion efforts – and you can contribute to this on-going success. Do you know anyone interested in upcoming group starts in the South?
- November 1: RESULTS Birmingham Global Poverty Group Start, 6-8 pm CT. To be held at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, 520 16th St. North. Contact Katy Windschill for more information.
- November 8: RESULTS Nashville Global Poverty Group Start, 6:30-8:30 pm CT. To be held at Belmont United Methodist Church, Room 124 (2007 Acklen Ave.). Contact Lisa Marchal for more information.
Standing Up for Grameen Bank. The Avaaz.org petition calling on Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to stop the government takeover of Grameen Bank, is getting close to having the 750,000 signatures it’s seeking. Have you signed?
One More Week: Apply for a World AIDS Day Mini-grant and Screen a Dynamic Documentary!
World AIDS Day mini-grant applications are now available, and applications are being accepted until October 29! Apply now in anticipation of World AIDS Day on December 1. Don’t let this chance pass you by. Remember, on RESULTS groups and advocates can apply for the mini-grants, but you can partner with community organizations. A little bit of money can help make a good event great.
Whether or not you apply for a grant, start now to cook up a fun, inviting outreach recipe for World AIDS Day. Support materials for World AIDS Day outreach will be available soon.
In the meantime, think about what might be enjoyable and informative that might draw people in for an informative, engaging evening during which people can learn about RESULTS on/around World AIDS Day.
- We are working to gain access to 30 DVDs of the powerful HIV/AIDS documentary How to Survive a Plague, that you can show as the centerpiece for an outreach meeting, and limited screenings are still being held around the country. Check out information about the film, including where’s it’s still playing, or request a DVD either directly through your grant application or by contacting Allyson Goldsmith, Outreach and Advocacy Associate.
- Maybe a letter-writing party about supporting the Global Fund?
- Bring people together for coffee and use your smartphone to add your group’s picture to “The Big Push” (#thebigpush on Twitter) on The Huffington Post?
Put your thinking caps on and get creative! But remember: The most enticing element of any event you put on is the energy, persistence, and courage of you and/or your group!
As you think about your outreach event, check out the blog post of David Bryden, our Stop TB Partnership liaison, about the powerful data just released in the World Health Organization’s recently launched Global Tuberculosis 2012 report. TB is the leading global killer of those living with HIV; read up on the current state of the co-infection problem.
“If your cause is just and you are working in an institution with the means to truly make a difference in the lives of the poor, optimism of the spirit is a moral responsibility.”
-Dr. Jim Kim, President of the World Bank
1. October 24, 9 pm ET: RESULTS New Activist Orientation (Second night of two.) This orientation is ideal for those who are activists with us but who are still relatively new and would like more information on RESULTS’ history and methods. Contact Meredith Dodson, Director of Domestic Campaigns, for a recording of the first night’s call so you can catch up, and then join in! Dial in to (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262.
2. October 29: World AIDS Day mini-grant application deadline extended. Apply now in anticipation of World AIDS Day on December 1. Got a great outreach idea? Don’t let this chance pass you by.
3. October 30: Harnessing the Power of Education: RESULTS in Action! At the University of Montana, 7 pm MST. Ken Patterson, Global Grassroots Manager of RESULTS, and Genevieve Chabot of Iqra Fund will discuss the importance of education for girls and will outline how get involved in RESULTS. This free event is sponsored by The Global Leadership Initiative (GLI) at The University of Montana and the Montana World Affairs Council. For more information, contact Lori Saltveit, Global Grassroots Expansion Agent.
4. November 1, RESULTS Birmingham Global Poverty Group Start, 6-8 pm CT. Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, 520 16th St. North. Contact Katy Windschill, Global Grassroots Expansion Agent, for more information.
5. November 8, RESULTS Nashville Global Poverty Group Start, 6:30-8:30 pm CT. Belmont United Methodist Church, Rm. 124, 2007 Acklen Ave. Contact Lisa Marchal, Global Grassroots Associate, for more information.
6. November 10, 2 pm ET: RESULTS National Grassroots Conference Call for Global Poverty Campaigns. Dial (888) 409-6709 to join.
7. November 14, 9 pm ET: RESULTS Introductory Call. Please RSVP for the call so we can welcome you. Dial in number: (712) 432-3100, passcode 761262.
8. November 19, 8 pm ET: RESULTS Free Agents call for global poverty advocates. (218) 486-1611, passcode 7378587 (RESULTS). Are you a RESULTS activist with our global poverty campaigns, living in a town with no RESULTS group? You are alone no more! Contact Lisa Marchal for more information on this monthly group call.
9. House and Senate on recess until after the election.